The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-04-04
CRUELTY OF THE pERsIANs.
All Sorts of Wickedness Concealed Under
Thin Veneer of Hospitality.

a Thin Veneer of Hospitality.
Under a thin veneer of good nature,
hospitality and politen 9ss the modern Per
sian conceals every one of the seven dead
" sins 1t is a significant fact that no
words corresponding to our love, graft
tude, virtue, honor, patriotism, conscience
or penitence exists in his language. Inc
words serving as substitutes nave alUo-
gether different meanings. ''Takewah"
means piety or rather observance OF the
ritualistic laws; Gunner means not
honor but smartness and cummings
ssnemeki haelal'' and ''nemeki haeram"
literally, good salt and rad salt) only
refers to the rules of hospitality; 'peshi-
mani is not penitence but grief at the
non success of an enterprise, and ''lshk'
is not love but the only feeling the Per
sian knows under that name.
Like most towards the Persian is fond
of inflicting pain where he may do so
safely Cruelty seems Unborn with him. i
have seen little children of both sexes
stoning a poor cur to death and literally
hacking a miserable cat to pieces just for
the fun of the thing, and without any in
reference from, often even with the
active cooperation of, the parent.
The death penalty is usually executed
with a view of making the culprit
undergo the most horrible fortunes and Of
affOrding q welcome sight to the callous
populace.
On the Koop Kapu in Teheran, the
square in the heart of the city where the
executions usually take place, half score
of deIinquents are often placed on the
raised platform surmOunted by pole
painted brilliant scarlet hue, and in full
sight of the rabble they have their threats
cut, their hearts torn out, their ears and
noses slit, their tongues pulled out, their
eyes scared, or boiling pitch poured over
their naked bOdies-to everybOdy's great
delight except that of the parties directly
concerned. Along the highways one
meets, stuck in the ground, short, hollow
pillars with the Upper opening closed with
gypsum. Each of these contains man,
a condemned criminal walled up alive.
Faint grOanS may often be heard by pas
sersby, for this mode of death is slow and
very painful, but nobody thinks it worth
his while to liberate the poor wretch or
to terminate his sufferings by merciful
blow ''Kismetr' they say, Esuch is
faten' Very much depends at executions
upon the hangman. A bride to him or
the guarantee that qualification will be
paid him by the friends of the condemned
man after his death always insure more
or less speedy death and decrease of the
fortunes otherwise inflicted.
But woe to the poor delinquent who
either has no more means left to buy the
good offices of the eXecutiOner or else
chooses to make over his last few tOmars
to his family-he will surely rue it in his
last hour and made to suffer twice as
acutely as would otherwise be the case.
There were, for instance, four criminals
hanged up by their feet and nailed to the
boards outside the gates of Teheran less
than year ago who could be seen there
slowly dying for thirty six hours. y well
spent bride to the eXecutioner would have
shortened their troubles, and it remained
finally for one of the diplomatic corps to
bestOw few kTaus to have these unlucky
malefactOrs put cut of their misery. The
average Persian will look entirely I'M
moved on a spectacle of human suffering.
There is no chord in his nature to respond
to an appeal for mercy. Money alone
will induce him to take compassion on
another mans pain.-WOlf Won Schier-
brand in New York Graphic.